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Austin, Proud of Eccentricity, Loses a Favorite

Every city has its characters, but other places tend to tolerate them with a smirk or a sneer. In Austin, Tex., it’s more of an embrace.

Which helps to explain the strong emotion that flowed through town this week when news spread of the death of Albert Leslie Cochran, 60, a bearded, cross-dressing, often homeless Austinite who was also an occasional candidate for mayor.

Wearing a cheerleader’s uniform, a tutu or a simple thong, accessorized with a feather boa or tiara, Mr. Cochran was an eye-catching figure in a city where eccentricity is nothing special. A popular bumper sticker, “Keep Austin Weird,” is the rallying cry of a place that resists the civic homogenization that can turn every town into pretty much every other town. “When people see the bumper sticker, they think of Leslie,” said Debbie Russell, a local activist and friend.

As the city braced for the tumult of the annual South by Southwest festival, Mayor Lee Leffingwell proclaimed March 8 “Leslie Cochran Day,” issuing an official proclamation calling him “an icon in the Keep Austin Weird scene” who provided “an indelible image” in the memories of many Austin visitors and tourists over the years.

Photo

Albert Leslie Cochran, in typical attire, during his 2000 campaign for mayor of Austin, Tex. He ran (unsuccessfully) three times.Credit
Rebecca McEntee/Austin American Statesman

Signs of Leslie were everywhere. Local bookstores sell the Leslie dress-up refrigerator magnet set, with outfits like a leopard-print dress, cheerleader uniform and an especially unfortunate miniskirt. There is an iPhone app, inevitably named iLeslie, featuring recordings of Leslie-isms that include a roguishly seductive “House the homeless — take me home” and “It was my favorite tooth, until I lost it.” The creators funneled part of the profits to Mr. Cochran.

Mr. Cochran ran unsuccessfully for mayor three times. Mike Clark-Madison, then the city editor for The Austin Chronicle, an alternative weekly, said Mr. Cochran showed up for a mayoral campaign interview in 2003 wearing a women’s business suit. “He looked like a stewardess from the golden age of air travel.”

During the session, Mr. Cochran talked about problems ahead for a city that was creative and fun, but growing so fast that it could become big and bland. “He was talking about issues we are still talking about today, nearly a decade later, as Austin has grappled with change,” Mr. Clark-Madison said.

Mr. Cochran was raised in Miami and was one of six children. His sister Alice Masterson, who flew to Austin to be by Mr. Cochran’s side in his final days, said that their parents were abusive, but that the children supported one another. Her brother had been a class clown, she recalled: “Sister Josephine could not control him in the classroom — he had to be the center of attention.” But he aced every test, she recalled.

He felt comfortable in the Texas capital, she said: “Austin is an amazing city. They loved him for who he was.”

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Leslie Cochran at rest at an Austin intersection in 1998.Credit
Vernon Bryant, The Austin American-Statesman

Those who got to know Mr. Cochran soon learned that he was a bawdy joker who charmed people into buying him a beer, but showed a surprisingly generous spirit. “He would change your flat tire while all the men in their suits were walking by,” said Valerie Romness, a hairstylist and advocate for the homeless who was a good friend, and who identifies herself on voice mail as “Leslie’s personal secretary.”

Liz Lambert, the owner of the Hotel San Jose, said Mr. Cochran “was so much a part of the fabric of the city.” But she noted that Mr. Cochran was “not without trouble,” and that she had to lay down rules when he became a fixture at her restaurant, Jo’s Hot Coffee and Good Food, which included “no open containers of alcohol” and “no thongs.”

In 2009 Mr. Cochran suffered a head injury in a fall that doctors suspected had been the product of a stroke. His recovery was slow, and his behavior grew more erratic; health problems worsened. In the days before his death, he was taken to the Hospice Austin’s Christopher House.

“He was sweet,” said Nick Barbaro, publisher of The Austin Chronicle. Mr. Barbaro read through his e-mail inbox, describing the outpouring of emotion over Mr. Cochran’s passing, including an announcement of a “Love Leslie Parade” scheduled for Thursday evening, which urged participants to “dress in Leslie gear.”

Mr. Barbaro paused and said, “That’s a little scary.”

On Friday, the day after the parade, Mrs. Masterson, Leslie’s sister, said with a little laugh that the evening had been too chilly for thongs.

She wore a tiara.

David Carr contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on March 10, 2012, on page A10 of the New York edition with the headline: Austin, Proud of Eccentricity, Loses a Favorite. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe